The present invention broadly relates to office accessories and, more specifically, pertains to a new and improved construction of an organizing device comprising a stapler and a hole punch.
Generally speaking, the organizing device of the present invention is suitable for travel, office, school and the home and comprises a hole punch having a first rocking lever and at least two punches, a stapler integrated into the hole punch for stapling together documents being processed by means of an initially U-shaped staple of conventional design and having a magazine for accommodating staples and including stop means for the staples, spring means for pressing the staples against the stop means in the magazine, a flat plunger for inserting a staple bearing against the stop means into the documents being processed and a second rocking lever operatively connected with the flat plunger, and a base pivotably connected to the first and second rocking levers and having a forming anvil for closing the legs of the staple upon the rear or opposite side of the documents being processed and at least two bores defining female dies for the punches of the hole punch.
In addition to robustly built office staplers having a long cantilever, small staplers for home or private use are also known. These are usually built in the same manner as the professional devices. The conventional arrangement of the staple magazine and its associated spiral spring with a guide shoe for feeding the staples leads to a length and height of construction which hinders portability in a briefcase or in a jacket.
Both the known professional devices and the small staplers comprise a staple magazine which is pivotable toward the base. Both the insertion plunger and the staple therefore move through a circular arc in stapling. This has the consequence that, on the one hand, the insertion plunger does not advance the staple precisely in a plane and, on the other hand, that the staple does not impinge perpendicularly upon the base or anvil. In small staplers, which, for reasons of economy are not very stably built, this often leads to a jamming of the plunger and of the staple or to faulty staplings with bent staples.
Combinations of hole punches and staplers which can be operated individually or jointly are also known from the literature. The German Patent Publication No. 2,619,961 shows a combination consisting of a conventional hole punch into which a conventional stapler is inserted. When operating the stapler, holes are automatically punched; when operating the hole punch, on the other hand, the stapler remains out of operation. In addition to the disadvantages that the two functions, stapling and hole-punching, cannot be executed selectively, the mechanical components are designed such that they can only be manufactured for a large desk model, but not as a handy device for travel, household or school. This is because the unconditionally required forces upon the punches cannot be generated in a miniaturized version.
A further device for stapling and hole-punching is known from the German Petty Pat. No. 7,420,270 with which-- given sufficient dexterity of the user--both functions can be executed individually or jointly. This device, due to its complicated construction, is very large and cannot be miniaturized. Furthermore, the inserted staple does not lie in line with the punches, which renders this device unusable for many purposes.
Also both patents mentioned in the aforementioned German Petty Pat. (German Pat. No. 687,908 and Austrian Pat. No. 165,605) display constructional extravagance and manipulatory problems which preclude an economical manufacture and application beyond the desk.